Revealed at Last: The Morocanth Secret!

From: Guy Hoyle <ghoyle1_at_mail.airmail.net>
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 12:39:35 +0000


"When Waha created his Covenant in ages past, he decreed that half the peoples of Prax must feast upon half the other peoples. A contest was held, to decide whether the Two-Legged Praxians would feast upon the Four-Legged Praxians, or whether the reverse would be true. In all cases but one, the Two-Legs won; however, among the Morocanth, the For-Legs won, and the Two-Legs became the herd. Though the other tribes have long suspected that the Morocanth cheated, no Morocanth has ever revealed the secret of the four-legged Morocanths' victory over the two-legged Morocanths.

"However, in the hidden fastness of Giantland, in the very shadow of the legendary Gonn Orta, there sits a certain Morocanth who styles himself "Mr. Greatness". After a drinking bout of epic proportions
(in which I held my own, I might add), Mr. Greatness let slip the
secret of the Morocanth's victory, as the Morocanth tell it amongst themselves. Mr. Greatness is virtually unique amongst the Morocanth, for he alone possesses a Thumb; he is very proud of this Thumb, and hubristically proud. Though it was hard to make out his every word
(owing to his condition, as well as his anatomy), Mr. Greatness
revealed that Waha drew lots to decide who would choose the contest that determined who would be the eater, and who would be the eaten. The two-legs won the right to choose. When they revealed their choice of contests, the wise and wily Morocanth founder perceived that he and his people were doomed to failure unless he could even the odds somewhat. So he quested far and wide, until he found a sympathetic spirit of great power. In exchange for certain promises
(which Mr. Greatness either did not know or chose not to reveal), the
spirit gifted the Founder with secret weapon. Gleefully, the Morocanth founder bounded across the plains in time for Waha's great contest: thumb wrestling.

"Of course, the Morocanth won the contest, which astonished and angered the Two-Legsof the other tribes. They accused the four-legged Morocanth of cheating, and the Morocanth accused the two-legs of rigging the contests in their favor. So Waha decreed that the two wrongs cancelled each other out; however, the Morocanth founder was not permitted to pass his thumb on to his people. Ever after, among the Morocanth, only the two-legged ones have thumbs
(unless the four-legged ones follow the Path of the Founder and win a
thumb of their own)."

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